Meet Babybel...a little female grey (whitecoat) seal who arrived at the Sanctuary on the 6th of August 2026 after being rescued from Port Gaverne. At just around seven days old, she should still have been snuggled up with her mum. After being carefully monitored for 48 hours by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) marine mammal medics volunteers, it became clear that mum wasn´t going to return and Babybel was becoming weak.
So, she came safely to the Sanctuary, where she could be rehydrated and cared for.
And yes...if you guessed CHEESE as this year´s pup naming theme, you´d be right!
Pup Update : 10th August 2026 - This photo of Babybel was taken a few days later fully moulted out and feeding for herself.
The animal care team are delighted to say she is already making great progress and has learnt to feed herself and even had her first swim. For now, it´s all about eating, sleeping and growing before she heads out to the outdoor rehabilitation pools.
Pup Update : 3rd September 2026 - Babybel is the first seal pup for 2026/27 rescue season to graduate from the seal hospital. The animal care team worked hard to make sure she got all the nourishment she needed and taught her how to feed for herself. Babybel did so well that on the 30th of August 2026, she was ready to be moved to the outside nursery pools to continue her rehabilitation. The path next to her pool has been closed off to make sure Babybel gets lots of rest in between feeds.
Her flipper ID tag number is SL390 (yellow).
These photos of Babybel were taken on the 3rd September 2026 in the nursery pool 4.
How can you help?
Every year, tiny, vulnerable seal pups arrive at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary´s hospital needing specialist care, plenty of TLC and time to grow strong enough to return to the wild.
From their first days in our care to the moment they´re ready to swim free, as a sponsor your support is there every step of the way. Each seal pup costs us an average of £2,000 - £3,000 to rescue and rehabilitate, and some need even more specialist care.
By sponsoring a seal pup, you´ll become part of their journey and help provide the food, care and rehabilitation they need to get back where they belong, in the wild.
Choose from three sponsorship levels and help give a rescued seal pup the second chance they deserve.
